Opinion 93-18

This
opinion represents the views of the Office of the State
Comptroller at the time it was rendered. The opinion may no
longer represent those views if, among other things, there have
been subsequent court cases or statutory amendments that bear on
the issues discussed in the opinion.

FIRE COMPANY -- Powers and Duties (authority to require
referendum on establishment of service award program)

FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICTS -- Service Award Program
(circumstances requiring referendum on program for fire company
in fire protection district)

VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS -- Service Award Program (authority to
require referendum on establishment of program)

GENERAL MUNICIPAL LAW, §216(2): A town board is not required
to conduct a mandatory referendum on a proposal to establish a
service award program selected by a fire company located within
a fire protection district in the town, unless the proposal has
been approved by a vote of at least sixty percent of the town
board.

You ask whether a town board is required to conduct a
mandatory referendum on a proposal to establish a service award
program selected by a fire company located within a fire
protection district in the town.

The authority and procedures for establishing a service
award program are set forth in General Municipal Law, §216.
Section 216(2) provides that upon the affirmative vote of at
least sixty percent of the governing board of a "political
subdivision" which has contracted with the volunteer fire
departments or fire companies located in a fire protection
district of the political subdivision, there shall be a
mandatory referendum of the eligible voters residing within the
fire protection districts to determine whether the governing
board shall establish a service award program for the volunteer
firefighters of the fire departments or companies. For this
purpose, the term "political subdivision" means a county, city,
town, village or fire district (id.; Volunteer Firefighters'
Benefit Law, §3[10]).

Thus, section 216(2) does not require a town board to
conduct a mandatory referendum on a proposal to establish a
service award program unless the proposal is approved by a vote
of at least sixty percent of the town board. Further, section
216(2) does not require a town board to vote on a proposal
selected by a fire company. In this regard, we note that
although other statutes require a town board to submit a matter
to referendum upon the filing of a petition (see, e.g., Town
Law, §81), there is no comparable provision in section 216(2).

Accordingly, it is our opinion that a town board is not
required to conduct a mandatory referendum on a proposal to
establish a service award program selected by a fire company
unless the proposal has been approved by a vote of at least
sixty percent of the town board.

April 6, 1993
Howard Protter, Esq., Attorney for the Town
Town of Patterson